Final victim of suspected serial killer laid to rest

Associated Press, Laredo Morning Times

Published
9:57 pm CDT, Saturday, September 22, 2018

Pallbearers carry the casket of Nikki Enriquez down the steps at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church after her funeral service, Friday, Sept. 21, 2018 in Laredo, Texas. Authorities say Border Patrol supervisor Juan David Ortiz is accused of killing four women this month. He was arrested Sept. 15 and remains jailed on several charges, including four counts of murder. (Courtney Sacco /Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP) less

Pallbearers carry the casket of Nikki Enriquez down the steps at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church after her funeral service, Friday, Sept. 21, 2018 in Laredo, Texas. Authorities say Border Patrol supervisor Juan David Ortiz is accused of killing four women this month. He was arrested Sept. 15 and remains jailed on several charges, including four counts of murder. (Courtney Sacco /Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP) less

About 150 people gathered Saturday at a local church for the funeral of one of the four women who authorities say were killed by a Border Patrol agent they've described as a serial killer.

The funeral for 34-year-old Guiselda Alicia Hernandez at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church was the last of the memorial services for the women. Border Patrol supervisor Juan David Ortiz is charged with four counts of murder in connection with the slayings.

The funerals for two other victims, Claudine Luera, 42, and Janelle Ortiz, 28, were held Friday. Ortiz was a transgender woman whose birth name was Humberto Ortiz.

Services for Melissa Ramirez, 29, who was found slain Sept. 4, were held earlier this month. Luera was a mother of five and Ramirez a mother of two.

Juan David Ortiz was arrested Sept. 15 and remains jailed.

The slayings and arrest of Ortiz rocked the Laredo community this past week. The news made national headlines, with reporters from numerous media outlets descending on the Gateway City.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said the Rangers will continue their investigation into the killings but that they do not think there are more than four victims.

Once the investigation is wrapped up, it will be turned over to the Webb County District Attorney's Office. District Attorney Isidro "Chilo" Alaniz said Ortiz may face capital murder charges when all the facts are known.

"We know he carried out these crimes in a cold, calloused fashion," added Alaniz, who said Ortiz had apparently gained the confidence of his victims, all sex workers, from prior contacts.

Erika Pena, a fifth victim who escaped from Ortiz's vehicle and helped law enforcement find him, said she had known the agent for about four months, according to her aunt.

"There appears to have been a history between Ortiz and this community ... a community that is vulnerable, defenseless and has no voice," Alaniz said.

In confessing to the crimes, Ortiz also revealed a hostility toward the sex workers who are found nightly along a tattered stretch of San Bernardo Avenue, according to authorities.

"I know he mentioned a dislike for the community. Whatever the anger was, we don't know," said Fred Garza, chief for the Webb County Sheriff's Office, which assisted the Texas Rangers in the investigation.

Ortiz's lawyer, Joey Tellez, said in a statement on Thursday that he had begun his own investigation of the case and would not comment further.

The Laredo community began to suspect a serial killer may be on the loose after the second victim, Luera, was found fatally wounded Sept. 13 on a rural roadside outside city limits. Luera was shot near where the first victim, Ramirez, was killed on Sept. 3.

Following Luera's death, DPS was tight-lipped about the case as well as the slaying of Ramirez. Both homicides and the names of the victims had been reported on by local media. But authorities made no mention publicly of a possible link between the two cases despite both being killed in a similar fashion and both being known sex workers.

"This is still an ongoing joint investigation between the Texas Ranger Division and Webb County Sheriff's Office. There are no further details for now," said DPS Sgt. Erick Estrada on Sept. 14, the day after Luera's body was found.

Rumors and speculation began to run rampant about the two homicides. One speculation was that Luera was killed because she may have known the person who killed Ramirez. According to arrest affidavits, that speculation turned out to be true.

The documents state that Ortiz, after picking up Luera near San Bernardo, pulled over to the side of the road on Texas 255 after she became nervous and began accusing him of being the last person to see Ramirez alive. When she exited the vehicle, Ortiz allegedly shot her multiple times in the head.

The Texas Rangers and Sheriff's Office caught a break in the case when Ortiz allegedly pointed a gun at Pena inside his vehicle at about 9 p.m. Sept. 14 at a gas station. She managed to escape from the vehicle and ran to a DPS trooper who happened to be nearby. Three hours later, after investigators interviewed Pena at a Sheriff's Office substation, a lookout was issued for Ortiz and his white pickup truck.

Then at about 2 a.m. Sept. 15, DPS troopers spotted the suspect vehicle at a gas station while Ortiz was using the restroom. When they confronted Ortiz, he fled on foot to the nearby Hotel Ava, where he was detained without incident on the charge of evading arrest.

During an interview with Ortiz, he confessed to killing two more women in the five hours between Pena's escape and his arrest, according to criminal complaints. One of the bodies was discovered at about 1 a.m. Sept. 15 and Ortiz told investigators where they could find the other.

On the afternoon of Sept. 15, Alaniz and Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar held an impromptu news conference near where the fourth body was found on mile marker 15 on Interstate 35.

On Monday afternoon, a formal news conference was held at the Sheriff's Office. Carla L. Provost, Border Patrol chief who is based in Washington, D.C., attended the news conference.

She said the killings were committed by just one "rogue individual" in her agency, which is one of the largest federal law enforcement arms in the country, with 20,000 officers.

"I'm here to support my men and women, on whom it obviously has had an extreme impact. I'm sickened and saddened by the events that occurred," she said.

Provost pushed back against questions from reporters that suggested that the rapid growth of the Border Patrol in recent years has resulted in unqualified candidates becoming agents.

"There has been no lowering of standards. We do extensive background checks," she said.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said "establishing and maintaining high standards for Border Patrol agents is a top priority" for his office.

"We have advocated for and implemented new standards during the hiring process as well as new standards of professionalism after joining Border Patrol," a statement from Cuellar's office reads. " ... I spoke with CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan to talk about the situation in Laredo. We have agreed to work together on the hiring and professionalism of border patrol agents.

"We spoke about how more steps need to be taken to make certain that people who want to become Border Patrol agents receive the appropriate psychological screening to ensure that no person who is capable of these type of actions is allowed to join or remain in the ranks. We also spoke about hiring more Professional Responsibility officers so that they can police their own."

According to research by the Project on Governmental Oversight, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has had a chronic problem with corruption, with at least 13 employees arrested since Donald Trump became president.

Among the recent charges are bribery, theft, drug smuggling and misuse of top-secret government data, according to the review, which was based on government documents released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Going back to 2004, more than 200 CBP employees have been charged with corruption. More than 120 of the accused resigned, and an additional 54 were removed by the government.

The study also disclosed crimes of violence by CBP employees including rape and murder.

Many of the problems arose after a massive expansion that began soon after the CBP was created in 2003. With Trump now vowing to add an additional 5,000 border agents, critics worry that a rise in corruption may follow.